I knew I’d made something that was better than my usual. I didn’t think I’d made something anywhere near good enough to get official recognition! That happens to other people, not to me. I have won a few things in the past, but that has been in open competition with unknown beaders and such a wide range of skills, designs and materials that it was really a personal preference decision for the judges. This was against beaders I knew, talented beaders with imagination and skill that blows mine out of the water, and a set pack of beads. A level playing field, or as close as you can get with such things.
I started out wanting to play with the steampunk style, or more of a steampunk/mixed media hybrid. I imagined a little dragonfly, uneven eyes, big fuzzy feet, body of glass, really very cute and thrown-together looking. Fortunately I re-read the rules before I started. Jewellery. Wearable art. It always says wearable art or jewellery. Mr Dragonfly was filed away in my sketchbook for another time and my mind started churning away on ideas for unusual wearables. I told myself that I was not making a necklace.
My original idea was for a collar and cuffs. Dark, elegant, and only really appropriate with a very plungy backless dress at some fancy black tie do. It had fluff, it had drama, and it had a rear-facing drop that dangled so low it could easily learn all of Victoria’s secrets. Unfortunately this design was scrapped when it became apparent that I’d need a gazillion rolls of thick black rattail cord. Across two suburbs, all I could find was an endless supply of baby blue and a single roll of roadworker yellow.
Eventually I did find black rattail, and black mousetail, and teal braid and some sort of abraisive metallic cord that could easily pass as fine sandpaper. It was a lovely colour mix. Unfortunately it was also quite varied in diameter so my flat braid wibbled and wobbled and ended up looking quite newb-ish. I didn’t really like it, but at the same time I couldn’t bring myself to chop it up. My second idea was for an embellished arm wrap, wrist to elbow & fully convertible. Arm wrap, belt, lariat, whatever! The more I thought about the idea, the more I liked it. Unfortunately, the more I thought about the idea, the more I realised I was just using the beads to embellish the main design element. I should have been using the beads *as* the main design element.
At that point I realised I was running out of time and I decided that it was not a great time to step well outside of my comfort zone. I started making components. Lots of components. I made wheels and flowers and medallions and all sorts of variations on the theme. A design started to form in my mind. It was asymmetric and beautiful, simple but interesting. It was a necklace. I resisted for a short while and then I gave in. Why shouldn’t I make a necklace if that is what works best?
And work it did!
I think I used every type of stringing material that I had at my disposal. I knotted beads on string as if they were pearls. I learned how to do kumihimo. I sat down and tied tiny little knots in fiddly bits of fishing line and then fused them with glue. I even broke out a brand new bottle of Diamond Glaze and gave DIY fancy cabochons a try. I learnt so much from what looked like a pile of fairly ordinary beads.
I think I finally managed to do it. Visual balance on an asymmetric piece is not an easy thing to achieve and I’ve made a few pieces in the past that totally missed the mark. I’m much more at home with patterns, repetition & symmetry so this was a big scary reach for me. There was no way to make this work as a symmetrical piece so I had to make it work with balance. I make it sound hard, but to be honest this one just kind of came together all by itself.
The end result was just fabulous. I’m so incredibly happy with how it turned out. A bunch of people on the Beading Forum agree, I scraped in with the Peer Recognition award!
It was a REALLY tough field. Hot on my heels for the Peer Recognition award was a stunning wirework piece by Rhalikias that I would have happily lost to. It was just stunning. Elegant but not over the top. The piece that won the overall contest was created by Beadywitch and was well and truly deserving. It was the more difficult of the two colour options – purple and boho gold – and showed incredible skill with design and technique. It was a strap-like micro-macrame piece that worked the beads into the panels, in one section they were knotted in as daisies!
Honestly, I’m so chuffed by this that the piece is still sitting on my bust right next to my computer. I keep trying to casually drop “oh, by the way, did I tell you that I did OK in a bead comp?” into completely unrelated conversations. I’m sure the glow will wear off soon, but right now I’m just going to bask in it a while. 
Big thanks to 3rd Rock for my lovely gift certificate and providing such a splendid set of beads for everyone this quest!
I so no how you feel, to be a winner is such an awesome experience and I still pinch myself that someone thought that my necklace was worthy to win. Its a very humbling expeience but one that I still need to pinch myself to believe, I really love the way eveyones mind works, its so inspiring. Congratulations Abbey on a beautiful well deserved win.
Tracey Aka Beadywitch
Fantastic! The necklace is elegant, original and stylish. I am green with envy of your talent for design and meticulous attention to detail in the finish. Well done, you!
Congratulations! It’s beautiful.